Serendipity
by MVStrawberry
Summary: A fortunate accident leads to some life changing events.
1. Chapter 1

Title: Serendipity  
  
Author: Berry  
  
Rating: PG  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own the characters I've taken from Alias or the plot line from Serendipity, so no infringement is intented toward either.  
  
Archived: Alias Boards, Allies, Cover Me, ff.net  
  
Summary: AU. Absolute fluff. Based on the movie of the same name. A fortunate accident leads to some life changing events.  
  
Author's Note: based on the movie, one of my all time favorites... Sydney and Vaughn both live in New York. A bit of Christmas, considering we're only two days away!!  
  
A Few Years Ago...  
  
christmas  
  
New York City  
  
Bloomingdales 6:00 PM  
  
It was a busy day at Bloomingdales, with only two days left until Christmas, all of the last minute shoppers were out and about. Sydney Bristow couldn't believe that she had left her shopping until this late in the season, she was a last minute shopper, but she had absolutely no idea what she should buy for her boyfriend. Michael Vaughn was also shopping, he spotted the perfect gift for his girlfriend, Alice. Black cashmere gloves. He pulled the Sunday Bloomingdales flyer out of his coat pocket and saw they were the exact same pair she wanted.   
  
Sydney also spotted the gloves, they were perfect, she'd been looking for a pair just like them for herself. She reached out and without a second thought snatched them up. She didn't get far though, someone else was holding onto her gloves. She looked over and saw a handsome man with green eyes and dark blonde hair.  
  
"Oh, I'm sorry." she said quickly.  
  
"No, no they're yours," the man quickly replied, "here, we'll put them back and you can take them." He placed the gloves back on their hook so Sydney could take them. Just then an older man walked up and grabbed the gloves.   
  
"Sir, I'm sorry, those are ours." Vaughn spoke up.  
  
"Well, they were hanging on the hook." the man answered.  
  
"Yes, but we were just discussing them. They're for someone very special."  
  
"Oh yeah? Who?"  
  
Sydney and Vaughn looked at each other and answered together, "Her boyfriend." "His girlfriend."  
  
They laughed at their lack of tact, and Michael continued, "They're for her boyfriend who in six months..."  
  
"after the operation..." Sydney continued their terrible story.  
  
"will be my girlfriend..." Michael finished, "That didn't really work."  
  
"No, it didn't," the man agreed," but Merry Christmas anyways." The man handed the gloves to Vaughn who quickly gave them to Sydney.  
  
"Enjoy those, they're some excellent gloves."  
  
Sydney laughed, "I will, I usually enjoy my own thoughtfulness."  
  
Later that Night  
  
Serendipity 3 7:30  
  
"How did you find this place? This has got to be the best dessert I've ever eaten in this city." Michael asked Sydney.  
  
"Well, it was the name that first brought me in, 'Serendipity'. I love it's meaning, a fortunate accident. It just sounds so perfect. I quite agree with the concept of serendipity, in fact. I think everything that happens, happens for a reason." Sydney explained.  
  
"Ok, so in some act of serendipaciousness tonight, I met you, this beautiful nameless girl who also happens to have a boyfriend."   
  
Sydney laughed, "I'm just saying everything happens for a reason."  
  
"So what if our meeting tonight means something more than a pair of cashmere gloves for you?" Michael questioned.  
  
"What if it doesn't? I had a good time tonight, maybe someday we'll meet again." Sydney said as she stood up, placing money on the table. Michael stood up and did the same. She began to leave and he followed her down to the street.   
  
"Wait wait wait!! You aren't getting out of it that easily. My name's Michael, and you are?"  
  
"Your brunette friend with new gloves." Sydney replied as she hailed a cab.  
  
"So that's it?" Michael yelled at her as she entered her cab.   
  
"Until we meet again, Michael." Sydney answered. The cab took off, leaving Michael alone in the cold New York air.  
  
"Damn!" Michael exclaimed, kicking a pile of snow up the sidewalk. "Oh God! I'm sorry!" Michael said, running toward the woman he had hit with the snow.  
  
Even later that night  
  
Subway station near 60th street 8:00  
  
Michael started down the stairs to get on the subway to go home when he realized he had left his scarf at the restaurant. Disappointed, he turned around and headed back to Serendipity.  
  
Serendipity 3 8:10  
  
Michael ran into the front of the store and asked the host if he had found a scarf. The host told him no, and sent him upstairs to the dining room to look for it. Michael approached the now empty table he had shared with the beautiful Bloomingdale's girl and noticed on the floor next to his scarf, a bright red Bloomingdale's bag containing cashmere gloves. He reached to pick up the bag when another figure appeared next to him. Sydney picked up her bag and Michael's scarf, which she put around his neck.  
  
"Hi." She said quietly.  
  
"Hi, " Michael answered, "You wanna go do something?"  
  
Sydney thought about it for a moment, and answered, "Sure." 


	2. Chapter 2

[b]Chapter 2[/b]  
  
Later the same night  
  
Central Park 9:00  
  
Sydney and Michael found themselves drawn to the skating rink at Central Park, nothing quite said Christmas like skating there.   
  
"Ok, Michael, favorite movie?" Sydney asked.  
  
"The correct answer is 'Cool Hand Luke'." Michael shot back.  
  
"Hmm, I've never heard of it."  
  
"You've never heard of 'Cool Hand Luke'? It's a cinematic masterpiece. Paul Newman!" Michael exclaimed.  
  
"Ok, then, favorite New York moment?" Sydney questioned.  
  
"This one's climbing the charts."  
  
Sydney smiled, "I'm flattered." She skated backwards, looking at him, and suddenly, she tripped over herself and fell flat on the ice.  
  
Michael looked over at her lying there on the ice, and simply commented, "Graceful."  
  
Sydney laughed and Michael lead her to a bench overlooking the rink. She rolled up the sleeve of her shirt, shivering because she had removed her jacket.   
  
"What is that?!?" Michael exclaimed.  
  
"What? My freckles? It's a curse, I hate them."  
  
"No, no I love your freckles, but these ones right here, they form Cassiopeia."  
  
"Cassiopeia? The constallation?"  
  
"Yeah, you've never heard the story of Cassiopeia? Ok, so she's this African queen who's unbelievibly beautiful, and one day she upsets the gods and Posiedon sentences her to sit in the heavens on her throne upside down. So she's forced to spend the rest of eternity with her skirt around her shoulders and all the blood rushing to her head. One mistake and..." Michael trailed off.  
  
"...she paid for eternity." Sydney finished for him.  
  
Sidewalk near the Waldorf-Astoria 9:20  
  
"I cannot believe I am doing this." Sydney said as she wrote her name and number down on a tiny scrap of paper.  
  
"Slowly, I'd like to have it legible." Michael warned.  
  
Sydney laughed, and handed the piece of paper to Michael when a garbage truck came zooming by, blowing the scrap out of both of their hands and onto the street with numerous other scraps of garbage. Sydney rolled her eyes and began to walk away.  
  
"Wait! That was just an accident! Please don't read into this one!" Michael called after her.  
  
"It's a sign!" Sydney exclaimed.  
  
She considered their situation and decided what they would do, "Here's what I'll do, take this 5 dollar bill and write your name and number on it."  
  
"Okay..." Michael agreed, took the pink pen and 5 dollar bill, and wrote his name and number down.  
  
(make this pink!) Michael Vaughn  
  
555-7894  
  
He handed it back to her and she ran across the street to a vendor, paid the man the same 5 dollar bill, and turned around and waved goodbye to Michael.  
  
"Hey! What do you think you're doing?"  
  
"When that 5 dollar bill comes back to me, I'll be able to call you. Then you'll believe in fate, won't you?"  
  
"I don't think its fair that you're the one with all the control, what if you get the bill back and your life is just so perfect that calling me would ruin everything. I think there should be something out there with your name on it." Michael explained.  
  
"You are absolutely right. Lemme see, what have I got?" Sydney dug through her purse and produced a copy of [i]Alice in Wonderland[/i]. "Ok, tomorrow morning, I'll write my name and number in the front of this book and then sell it to a used book store. And every time you pass a book store, you'll have to go inside and see if it's there."  
  
"This is cruel and highly unusual, you know that don't you?" Michael commented.  
  
"Ok, one last idea," Sydney said as she spotted the Waldorf coming into view. She grabbed his hand and rushed inside the hotel.  
  
"What? Are we getting a room?"  
  
"Ha! Very funny!" Sydney smirked, she lead him to the elevators and said,"Ok, you go over there and get in. When the door closes, pick any floor. If we pick the same floor, we're meant to be together now!"  
  
Michael shook his head and said, "You're crazy."  
  
They both entered their elevators, and Sydney tossed her Bloomingdale's bag at Michael.   
  
"My name's Sydney." She called out to him as the doors closed. She instinctively chose floor 23, because 23 was her favorite number.   
  
In his elevator, Michael opened the Bloomingdale's bag, it contained one glove. He looked at the buttons, and reluctantly decided on floor number 23. He smiled at his one glove and he closed his eyes to wait for the elevator to stop at floor 23. When the elevator stopped, he looked at the indicator knowing it was too soon, he was on floor 14. A man and his son, appropriately dressed in a devil costume stepped in. Concerned, Michael said, "This elevator's going up."  
  
"Oh it doesn't matter, he likes to ride either way." The man said to Michael. The child hissed as he pressed every button between floor 14 and 23.  
  
Meanwhile, on the 23rd floor, Sydney's elevator came to a stop. She ran out, sure she would find Michael waiting for her. She found no one. Still, she decided to wait, but only for five minutes. She sat down on the floor and waited.  
  
On the 17th floor, a large group emerged with Michael, shouting, "Is she here? Is she here?"  
  
Sydney was disgusted, she stood up and pushed the elevator button. It arrived quickly and she got on and closed the doors. Michael's elevator arrived, and he found no one on the floor. Discouraged, he got back on his elevator and went downstairs.   
  
As Michael left the building, he found himself checking every brunette on the street to make sure it wasn't Sydney. He finally headed home, thinking only of the glimmer of hope that her [i]Alice in Wonderland[/i] book would bring. 


	3. Chapter 3

A few years later...  
  
New York  
  
The Waldorf-Astoria 11:00 PM  
  
"I would like to, with his nuptials now very upcoming, proclaim that this man only has one true love... and that true love would be me." Eric Weiss, Michael's best friend and best man had decided to give a toast at dinner, "I mean, think about it... we've been inseparable since freshman year, and failed romance after failed romance, he's always come running back to me!"  
  
Everyone laughed, and Eric continued, "I am and always will be Mike's first wife. I know, I know, it's quite an honor. So, now on a more serious note, I'd like to raise my glass to Michael and his bride-to-be, Lauren. Let's hear it for Mike and Lauren. Lauren, you're a lucky woman and you're the only other person good enough for that man, besides me of course."  
  
Michael and Lauren laughed, and looked across the table at their parents who were beaming like idiots. Lauren turned to Michael and said, "On a scale of 1 to 10, how drunk is Eric right now?"  
  
Michael answered, "I'd say about a 12..."  
  
Outside the Waldorf 11:30 PM  
  
"Come on, boys, come out with us!" Lauren's parents were urging Michael and Eric to hit the local nightspots with them.   
  
"I wish I could, but I can't, I'm sorry," said Eric, "I've got to be up early tomorrow."  
  
"So do I, I'm sorry," answered Michael, "I'll see you all in like 20 hours."  
  
He kissed Lauren goodbye, and headed home.  
  
San Fransisco  
  
North Beach Psycology 11:30 AM  
  
"I just feel like maybe I've lost something that I can never get back. I mean, she was my soulmate." Sydney listened intently to the young man who had come to see her that morning.   
  
"Don't use words like soulmate to describe something so miniscule as a few weeks. Our lives are what 70, even 80 years, so a few weeks with her are truly nothing to ruin your life over."  
  
"You don't believe in soulmates?"  
  
Sydney pondered the question, "I believe in deep and lasting love, but I don't think that the person with whom you find that deep love is predestined. You have to run your own life, make your own decisions. There's no point else living is there?"  
  
The boy smiled,"You know what? You really know what your talking about!"  
  
Sydney blushed, "Thank you."  
  
San Fransisco Bay Ferry 6:30 PM  
  
Sydney boarded the ferry home, just as she did every day. She felt content with her work with her newest client. She was sure that he would soon get over his heartbreak. Meanwhile, she had a romance of her own, just waiting for her.  
  
Sydney's House 7:15 PM  
  
Sydney entered her home to find the floor covered in yellow rose petals and several candles burning bright. She saw a large package wrapped and topped with a bow, and found a Post-it note stuck on it. "OPEN ME!!" it read. Sydney obeyed, and unwrapped the large box revealing another wrapped box, and another, and another, and another until she reached a jewelery box, just big enough for a ring. Her boyfriend, Danny, entered the room. "Looking for this?" he asked holding a square cut diamond ring.  
  
"Yes." Sydney answered.  
  
Danny smiled, "Good, I thought you might say that."  
  
He began to slide it onto her finger, only to find that the ring was far too small. He laughed and said, "Ok, no reading into this, Sydney. It's just a mistake."  
  
"I know, I know. I love the ring, we'll get it refitted,"Sydney answered.  
  
"I gotta go call my manager and tell him you said yes. We'll have to fit the honeymoon into the tour. How does Bora Bora sound?"  
  
"Sounds... fun!" Sydney smiled. She had hoped that perhaps Danny's proposal meant he was considering postponing the tour. 


	4. Chapter 4

San Francisco Mad Dog in the Fog 9:30PM  
  
Sydney and Danny had rushed to their favorite nightspot, Mad Dog in the Fog, to tell all their friends about their engagement. Sydney's best friend, Francie, had asked to see the ring about 5 times since their arrival, but with no boyfriend for herself, Sydney could completely understand. "So when's the wedding?" Sydney's other friend, Will, asked. "Soon," Danny answered, "before my tour." Danny was soon headed on a tour of the world; he was a wildlife TV show host. He considered himself the next Jeff Corwin, or Steve Irwin, but unfortunately was stuck on local access cable. Nonetheless, he was funding his own trip around the world so that his viewers could see more than the city's wildlife, and the few dolphins in the bay. Sydney understood how important his show was to him, but she often urged him to get a job working on a real wildlife show. Maybe an intern at 'The Crocodile Hunter' or something. "Well, I was just wondering..." Will continued. "...because he wants to house-sit for you!" Francie finished for him. "Oh, that's a really good idea, Will; of course you can house-sit for us. It'd be a great help, you know, one less thing to worry about." Sydney answered. "Yeah, that is a great idea, thank you, Will." Danny added.  
  
San Francisco Sydney's House 10:15PM  
  
Sydney walked into her house, and put her purse away in the closet. On the table next to the door she saw Danny's change from their dinner. Instinctively, she turned over the 5 dollar bill, praying she would see the pink markings Michael had left on their 5 dollars all those years ago. It was blank, just like every other 5 in her possession in the past seven years.  
  
New York City Sidewalk near the Waldorf-Astoria 12:00AM  
  
Michael was walking home when he passed a street vendor. He normally would keep walking, but he noticed that this man had books. Unable to pass up the opportunity, Michael quickly looked for the first edition Alice in Wonderland book that he'd looked for often since he and Sydney had parted. He found one, opened the cover, and found nothing. Blank paper. Disappointed, he put the book back, and continued home.  
  
New York City Michael's Apartment 12:30AM  
  
Lauren was sitting on the bed, which was covered in assorted junk that was clearly not hers. She had only been able to stand another half-hour with her parents. Michael came in from the bathroom and Lauren said, "Hey, I'm hungry." "Already? We didn't have enough at dinner?" Michael asked. "Not for me, you remember, a steak dinner isn't the best thing in the world for a vegetarian." Lauren answered. "That's true." "I'm going to go cook something for myself, do you want anything?" "No, I'm fine, thanks Lauren." "Oh yeah, you haven't been home today. I cleaned out your closet. We have to pack for the honeymoon, and I couldn't find a suitcase anywhere." "Oh, um, ok, that explains why all my stuff is on the bed." Michael lay down on the bed, and heard the crinkling of paper underneath him. He reached under his back and pulled out a red Bloomingdale's bag. He reached inside and found one black cashmere glove. When he pulled the glove onto his hand, he discovered something he'd never noticed before. A receipt containing Sydney's account number, and address. How is it that when everything in my life is perfect, you come running back to me, Sydney? 


	5. Chapter 5

New York City New York Times Building 43rd Street 10:45AM  
  
"Eric, I think it's a sign." "What the hell do you mean, 'a sign'? You sound like a freakin' fortune teller or something. So you saw a copy of Alice in Wonderland. There have got to be millions of copies of that book in Manhattan." "Yeah, but it was a first edition." Michael answered. "Ooooh! A first edition, not to be confused with the third edition, my personal favorite, or the seventh edition, the one we could actually afford to buy!" "Isn't there some dead person you're supposed to be writing about?" "Michael, if there's one thing I've learned writing obituaries, it's that they'll all still be dead tomorrow. So now back to this Sydney thing, what part of seeing a book makes it a sign?" "It's not the book, Eric!" Michael answered, "Look at what I found in the glove she gave me. I'd never thought to look; I mean it never even dawned on me!" Michael held up the Bloomingdale's receipt. "Oh, man, that little piece of paper has this non-believer believing!" "I can't tell if you're joking or if you're serious, man." "Oh, Mikey, Mikey, Mikey. Of course I'm serious. Let me see it." Michael handed the receipt to Eric, who examined it. "Holy crap!" "I know..." "It has..." "I know..." "AN ADDRESS!!! MAN! You freaking have her address!" "Yeah, seven years ago." "Look, I can type it in here, and get you her last name." Eric turned to his computer and typed in her address.  
  
"Julian Sark"  
  
"Julian Sark? Man, you're sure her name is Sydney? And that she was a she." "Eric, ew! Yes I'm sure she was a she, and I'm sure her name was Sydney, he could be um, a roommate. No! No, a boyfriend! When we met she had a boyfriend. Get his current address." "Okay, okay... I've got it... Queens. The guy's in Queens. So, Mike, does that mean we're going to Queens?" "What do you think?" "I think we need to get going."  
  
San Francisco Francisco Street 8:30 AM  
  
It was a bright spring morning in San Francisco, and Sydney was content to walk to work from the ferry. She started to cross the final intersecting street before she reached her office, when a city bus came zooming past. Sydney instinctively jumped backward, bumping into a wall. She turned around and noticed the entire wall was plastered with 'Cool Hand Luke' posters. Surprised at the irony, she practically ran the rest of the way to work. Michael, why are you haunting me now!?! 


End file.
